Aaron Burr was the worst vice president in American history. Thomas Jefferson tapped Burr for the position for regional balance and because he vociferously opposed the Federalists. A quirk in the Constitution led Burr to tie Jefferson for the presidency. Burr refused to step aside forcing a constitutional crisis. While in office, he shot and killed Alexander Hamilton. Later, he conspired to commit treason. As a result, Jefferson refused to work with his vice president and removed him from the ticket in 1804. Although a decent parliamentarian, Burr proved too self-serving, ambitious, and dangerous for the country.
Vice President Thomas Jefferson challenged President John Adams for the White House in 1800. Jefferson selected New York’s Aaron Burr for his running mate. Burr had solid credentials, connections, and despised the Federalist Party. After a long and bitter campaign, Jefferson and Burr tied in the Electoral College with Adams finishing third. At the time, electors voted for president and vice president separately. This glitch in the system allowed Burr to claim the presidency.
Most Jeffersonians wanted Burr to step aside. Although claiming he did not want the presidency, the New Yorker refused the entreaties throwing the election to the House of Representatives. Some Federalists attempted to throw the election to Burr, but failed. Alexander Hamilton stepped in and supported Jefferson. He hated Jefferson, but feared Burr.
Upon assuming office, Jefferson froze Burr out of the administration. As a result of his refusal to step aside in the president’s favor, Burr became a pariah. Burr never explained why he refused to disavow the White House for Jefferson. His inaction could only be interpreted as a desire to win the presidency for himself.
Whatever Burr’s motivation, he served ably as President of the Senate. His parliamentarian skills dwarfed his predecessors and evenhandedness impressed the Federalists. However, Burr's ostracism led him to seek out Federalist friends making the Democrats uneasy. In 1802, he blocked administration attempts to repeal the Judiciary Act virtually cutting the vice president off from his own party.
By 1804, Jefferson looked to re-election while Burr looked to the New York governorship. The president lost confidence in his vice president and jettisoned him to the political wilderness. Burr hoped to remain in politics by running New York State. Jefferson settled on George Clinton as his running mate.
Burr lost the New York Gubernatorial race and blamed his defeat on Clinton and Hamilton. Almost immediately, Burr and Hamilton entered into a deadly waltz. Hamilton besmirched Burr’s character at a dinner party comparing him to the Roman traitor Catiline. The pair exchanged letters with Hamilton refusing to assuage Burr. The two decided to settle the affair with pistols. On July 11, 1804, Vice President Burr shot and killed former Treasury Secretary Hamilton.
Burr’s actions led to murder charges, but he was never tried. After leaving office, the former vice president engaged in a land scheme designed to create an independent nation out of the Louisiana Territory. When word leaked, the government charged Burr with treason. Chief Justice John Marshall presided over the trial and defined treason so narrowly as to make conviction nearly impossible. After his acquittal, he continued to conspire and tried to win European backing for an overthrow of Mexico. After being rebuffed, and expelled from England, Burr returned to New York and died in 1836.
Aaron Burr’s adventuresome personality undercut his political gifts. Although a master politician and skilled parliamentarian, he could not resist the lure of power. He refused to step down in the Election of 1800. After the vice presidency, he attempted to carve out his own nation out of Louisiana and later worked to conquer Mexico. In between, he shot and killed Alexander Hamilton in a duel. In the end, Burr was the worst vice president in history.
Sources:
Chernow, Ron. Alexander Hamilton. Penguin Books, New York: 2005.
Ellis, Joseph. American Sphinx: The Character of Thomas Jefferson. Vintage, New York: 1998.
Fleming, Thomas. Duel: Alexander Hamilton, Aaron Burr, and the Future of America. Basic Books, New York: 1999
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